Typewriting machine



Aug. 24 1926.

E. E. STRONG TYPEWRIM'NG MACHINE Filed Feb. 14. 1924 2 Smets-Sheet 1 Aug@ 24 1921sm 1,597,299

E. E. STRONG TYPEWRTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 14, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5% @y MM? u ffl-@VW Patented Aug. 24, 1926.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

ELISHA E. STRONG, OF PARIS, FRANCE, ASSGNOR TO UNDERWOOD TYPEWRITER COM- IPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,.A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

Application filed February 14, 1924, Serial No. 692,720, and in France August 6, 1923.

This invention relates to the line-feeding platen typewriting machines.

It is usual to return the carriage b means of the saine lever that effects the linefeeding of the platen. Owing to the limited range of movement of such lever, it has been the practice for certain purposes to provide a separate crank which is geared to revolve the platen through very many linespace intervals at asingle stroke; this sweep of the platen being useful for introducing envelopes, bill-heads and other workpieces. Where such platen-sweep mechanism has been employed, it has been customary to return the carriage by means of a handhold'or lug which is usually provided upon the carriage-frame for thatpurpose.

An object of the present invention is t0 provide means for simplifying the manipulation of machines of this class. To this end, the usual line-spacing and carriage-returning lever may be disregarded or eliminated, and a` single platen-sweeping crank may be caused to perform the additional function of returning the carriage. Generally this crank extends normally toward the back of the machine, but when revolving or sweeping the platen around, it is pulled upwardly and forwardly, and at this time it is designed to constitute aconvenient handhold for returning the carriage; so that the platen may be swept around and the carriage returned by a single manipulation of said crank or handle.

It is one of the advantages of the invention that the usual step-by-step letter-spacing devices may be omitted, including the platen-driving pawl; and saidplaten-sweeping crank may be adjusted to give the platen either a. single, double, triple, or quadruple line-spacing movement at each manipulation, soI that ordinary line-spacing movements may be securedby the one crank or handle, whenever desired.

The improved device may preferably be vmounted on the left` hand of the platen-car-` riage for convenience of operation, and may include a lever swingable transversely to the path of travel of the carriage, having a pawl carried thereon arranged to engage with gearing for rotating the platen, and a pivoted handle on the lever to co-operate with the pawl for impro-ving the operation of the` device.

Heretofore, when operating a platensweep mechanism which includes a lever, pawl and gears or their equivalents, it has been found if the lever is speedily operat- `ed and abruptly caused to stop at the end of the stroke, as is the common practice, the gears and platen have a tendency to overrun, due to momentum of the moving parts. One of the features of the present improvements is to eliminate this undesirable tendency by arranging a handle on the lever to swing against the back of the pawl and forcibly hold the pawl in engagement with its gear during the entire platenturning operation. Thus the handle is caused to act as a back-stop or locking means, and prevents all possible slippage between the pawl and the gear and overrunningof the platen at the time that the lever is abruptly arrested at the end of the stroke.

The lever-handle may be provided with a finger-engaging piece having extensions thereon for taking the finger-thrust to sweep the platen and to give the platencarriage return movement.

`Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear. ln the accompanying drawings,

Figure l is a perspective `view of a fragmentary portion of a frame and platencarriage of a standard Underwood typewriting machine with the invention attached thereto.

Figure 2 is a View, in side elevation, of a platen-carriage with the invention mounted thereon, showing the operating lever in normal position arid the handle thereof ineffective to control the pawl.

Figure 3 vis a view similar to" Figure 2, showing the operating lever at the end of the stroke, and the handle thereof effective Cil drawings, a platen-carriage 1() is mounted to travel to and fro laterally on rails or tracks in thevusual manner. 'Only the rear barrail '10a is shown. Journaled in side frames 12 of carriage 10, only the one at the left being shown, is a platen 11 for carrying and advancing, in the well-known manner, work-pieces inserted in the machine for typing.

The invention, designated as 13, comprises a combined line-spacing mechanism of wide range or platen-sweep `device and a platenk'carriage-retnrn means,- and may preferably be,v mounted on the left-hand end of the platen-carriage on plate-cover 14 over the side frame 12 to repiace the usual linespace mechanism. The device 13 may be provided with .connect-ing and supporting means in the shape of a brace-bar or base 1,15 secured tolie fiat on cover 14, and rigidly mounted on said bar 15 may be a semi-circular, toothed, sector-piece 16, as shown in Figures 1 and 4.

y The deviceA 13 may also have a supporting rod 17 extendingl longitudinally over the platen' .11, the left end thereof being journaled in the sector-'piece 16 and the opposite end supported on the 4right end of platencarriage 10 in any suitable well-known manner, not shown. 0n the left end of rod 17, a gear-wheel 18 may be rigidly mounted in lany conventional fashion to mesh with a pinion 19 fastv on axle 2O of the platen 11 for rotating the latter. To operate device 13, a finger lever, or crank 21 may be provided, having a lower fork-shaped portion 22, the ends thereof straddling gear-wheel 18 and loosely pivoted on the hubs ofwheel 18,V as lshownin Figures 4 and 5. The free .end of lever 21 may comprise a crank-handle 23, pivoted at 24 tothe lower portion 22 for la limitedrogclting movement between arresting members 25 and 26 on the latter. The handle 23 may be yieldingly held in its rearinost-qroclri-ng position b y a retractile spring 27, which is fastened between the lower portion 22and handle 23 as on anchorstud 28 of portion 22 anden downwardlyprojecting. lip 29 on handle 23 below the pivot point 24.

` A `pawl r3() may be pivoted between the forked .ends of lever portion 22 and urged into engagement with the teeth on theperiphery of whee'l18 by la compression spring 31. The latter may be poclreted in pawl 30 Vagainst displacement from its operating position, andl may have its protruding` end bearing against the adjacent shoulder or heel 23a on handle 23, as shown in Figures 2 andV 3.l The arrangement of parts just described allows spring 31 to assist spring 27 in its action.

Ana-'adjustable stop, comprising a bifurca-ted member 32-betweenthe ends of which the toothed sector 16 sets, may be provided to gage the throw ofv the lever 21 for determining the amount of platen sweep` The ends of member 32 are pivotally mounted one on the hub of gear'18'and the other on rod 17, as shown in Figure 5, for swinging Voperatedscrew 34 threaded to project between the bifurcated portions of member 32,

and means, such as clutch-blockj35, on the leading' end of screw 34 may be provided for engaging with the teeth on the sector-piece `16, whereby the stop 32 may be adjustably fined in position.- Y

Referring now to Figure 1, the device 13 may be adjusted by turning finger-screw 34 to control the engagement of clutch-block 35 with the teeth on sector-piece 16, and positioning stop 32 on sector-piece 16 to allow sufficient throw of lever 21 to give platen 11 the sweep required by the work-piece to be typed. i

A. pin 36, outward-ly projecting from the side of stop 32 and extending into the path of movement of the crank 21, limits the backward movement thereof. The forward Vstroke of lever 21 may be limitedv by a fixed limiting-stop 37 secured on the forward right corner` of the carriage-frame 12, and, on the upper side of said stop 37, a side stop 38' may project, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The side stop 38 provides a substantial bearing to support the outer end of leveil portion 22 during the platen-carriage-return motion. A spring 39 may serve to return the crank 21 to its normal rear 7ard position against the pin 36 onstop Saidzspring 39 may be coiled to surroundY rod 17 and may have one end thereof fastened to a guide-rod 40, carrying the usual Ydowiiwardly-extending paper-fingers 41, and

may have its other end extending outwardly from the coiled portion for anchoring on an inwardly-projecting stud 42 on lever portion 22. j

The handle 23 is formed at its free end into a linger-engaging piece, which comprises an outwaild extension 43 and an upward extension 44, and is best shownin Figures 3 and 4. The device 13 is preferably operated by exerting finger pressure on e5:- tension piece 43 of the handle 23 to rock the latteron its pivot 24 against the action of springs 27 and 31 and cause the shoulder or heel 23?" to press against the adjacent part of pawl 30, forcing the latter intovengagementV with the teeth of gear 18, andtheref platen-carriage axis Vuntil the lever 21 strikes limiting-stop 37. Meanwhile, the platen 11, through the gearing and the pawl-and-ratehet connection with lever 21, is swept through a. distance corresponding to the adjustment of stop 32 on sector-piece 16. It should be noted that the pawl 30 is locked against disengagement from the gear 18 by shoulder 23aM while the handle 23 is operated. This arrangement is a decided improvement over constructions used heretofore, because no matter how quickly the lever 21 is thrown and abruptly stopped, the engagement between the shouldei1 23 on handle 23 and pawl 36 provides positive locking or backstop means against a tendency by the platen to overrun, due to the momentum of the moving parts.

After lever portion 22 strikes fixed limiting-stop 37, finger pressure may be exerted against extension piece 114 for giving the return movement. The limiting-stop 37, through side stop 38, offers desirable side support means to the lever portion 22 during the carriage-return move-` ment. On releasing of lever 21, spring 3S) will automatically return the lever 21' to its rearward position against pin 36. A stud. handle may be provided on the pawl 3() for swinging the latter out of engagement with gear 18 when it is necessary to turn the platen 11 backward, and a usual linespace wheel 46 mounted on platen-aXle 20 with its usual co-operating roller-detent 47 may be provided, as shown in Figure 1, for positively holding platen 11 in position. Operating the device 13 puts considerable stress on its fastening connections to the machine. rI'Vherefore, the brace-bar or base 15 may have its rear end bent downwardly and Vshaped to engage about a rear portion a8 ofthe side plate 12 of platen-carriage 10 to provide a brace or re-enforcement.

The device 13 maybe adjusted to give the platen line-space movement ranging from a single line-space to that corresponding to a complete revolution of the platen 11 or more for a single sweep of the crank 21, by properly proportioning the gears 18 and 19 and making the distance between the teeth on gear 18 and sector-piece 16 correspond with `a single line-space distance on platen 11.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a typewriting machine, the com! bination with a revoluble platen, of platen sweep mechanism therefor, including a pinion fixed to the platen, a gear-wheel meshing with the pinion, an actuating lever, a pawl carried by the actuating leverand springpressed into engagement withthe teeth of the gear-wheel, and an operatinghandle `by the base for swingably mounted on the lever adjacent the free end thereof, said handle including a heel directly engaging the pawl to hold the same pressed in engagement with the teeth when said handle is swung to move the leveu in platen-sweeping direction, thereby preventing slippage or overrunning of the platen during the platen-sweeping operation. i

2. In a typewriting machine, the co1nbination of a revoluble platen, sweep mechanism for rotating the platen, including a ratchet-wheel and a driving pawl, an actuating lever for the pawl, a pivoted handle on said lever, a back stop forming part of said handle, and yielding means normally holding the back stop ineffective, said stop during a platen-sweeping operation pressing against the pawl to hold the same in firm engagement with the ratchet-wheel.

3. In a typewriting machine having a. revoluble platen, in `combination with a platen-sweep mechanism including a pinion rotatable with the platen, a gear-wheel meshing with the pinion, ing said mechanism, a pawl-and-ratchet connection between the lever and the gearwheel, a fixed stop mounted on the machine for limiting the throw of the lever in one direction, and an adjustable stop member for limiting the movement of the lever in the other direction, including means for locking said member in position, said lever having' a rocking handle effective during the platen-sweeping operation to automatically press the pawl in engagement with the ratchet, to eliminate slippage and on abrupt stoppage of the sweep motion of the platen to prevent overrunning thereof.

1. In a typewriting machine having a revoluble platen, in combination with a platensweep mechanism including a pinion rotatable with tlie platen, a gear-wheel meshing with the pinion, a rearwardly spring-pressed operating lever pivoted concentrically of said gearwheel, a pawl carried by the lever and forming a ratchet connection between said lever and the gear-wheel, a forward fixed stop,` a rearwardly adjustable stop against which the lever normally rests, both stops being arranged adjacent the path of the lever and `co-operating therewith to limit the stroke thereof and consequently the rotation of the platen, anda handle rockingly mounted on the lever having a shoulder adjacent the pawl, said handle auto- `matically effective during the platen-sweeping operation to cause the shoulder to press directly against the pawl whereby to hold the same in engagement with the gear-wheel.

5. In a typewriting machine, the combi nation with a carriage, `of platen-sweep mechanism including a base arranged to be fastened to the carriage, and an arm carried engaging the framework of a lever for operat- 4 lOl) Vplaten-sweep mechanism ried thereon, a device comprising a platensweep mechanism and platen-carriage-return means supported on the carriage, an operating lever tor said mechanism, and a pivoted handle on said lever normally held ineffective by resilient means, said handle having extensions thereon `tor taking the lingerthrust to operate the sweep mechanism for rotating the platen and tor giving the carriage return movement, and eective during operation tov loch the engaging parts of said -mechanim against slippage and on abrupt stoppage of the sweeping operation to prevent overrunning otthe platen.

S. ln a typevf'riting machine, the combination of a platen-carriage mounted 'for letter-space movement, a revoluble platen carried thereon, a devieeincluding a platensweep Vmechanism and platen-carriagereturn means supported on thev carriage, an operating-lever `for said device, a pivoted handle on said lever, a back-stop forming part of said handle, and yielding means attached tothe. handle to normally hold the back-stop in an inetlective position, said step during operation engaging parts of the Ymeel anism to eliminate slippage and-,on abrupt stoppage of the sweeping operation to prevent overrnnning of the platen, and said handle having projecting extensions for tal-:ing the linger-thrust to operate the sweep mechanism tor rotating the platen and ier giving the carriage return movement. f

9. ln a typewrting machine, the combination et platen-carriage.mounted tor letter-space movement, av revoluble platen carried thereon, and a device including platen-sweep mechanism and platen-carriage-return means supported on the carriage, said mechanism comprising a pinion 'rotatable with the platen, la gear-wheel meshing with thepinion, a lever for operfating the device, a pawl-and-ratchet connection between the lever and the gearwheel, a fixed stop mounted on the carriageiraine tor limiting the throw of the lever Vin one direction, and an adjustable stop memy ber for limitingthe movement of the lever nation,

in the other direction` including means for locking said'member in position, said lever having a Vrocking handle etlective during the platen-turning operation to continuously urge into engagement said connection between the lever and the gear-wheel 1o eliminate slippage and on abrupt stoppage ot the sweeping motion et the platen to prevent overrunning thereof, and said handl having projecting extensions for taking the finger-thrust to operate the sweep mechanism Vdtor rotating the platenV and to provide means whereby the carriage may be returned.l i

lO. ln a typewriting machine, in combination, f a platen-carriage mounted for letter-space movement, a revoluble platen carried thereon, and a device including platen-sweep mechanism and a rplaten-carriage-return means supported on the .car-v riage, said mechanism comprising a pinion rotatable with thel platen, a gear-wheel meshing with the pinion, a rearwardly springpressed operating lever pivoted concentrical-lv of said gear-wheel, a pawl carried by the lever and torminga ratchet connection with said lever and gear-wheel, a forwardly lined stop, a rearwardly adjustable stop against which the lever normally rests, both stops being arranged adjacent the path ot the lever and co-operating therewith to limit the stroke and rotation of the platen, and a handle rockingly mounted on the lever having a shoulder adjacent thepawl, said handle including projecting lnger-pieces for takingV the fingerthrust to operate the sweep mechanism for rotating the platen and providing means wherebythe carriage may be returned, said handle etl'ective during a platen-sweeping operation to cause the shoulder to press the `pawl and thereby act as a bach-stop to eliminate slippage and on abrupt stoppage` et the-sweeping Voperation of the platen to prevent overrunning thereof.

ll. ln a typewriting machine, in combia platen-carriage mounted letter-space movement, a revoluble platen carried thereon, a device comprising platenlsweep mechanism and platen-carriage-return-means supported on the carriage, an operating lever for said device, a stop for limiting the throw ot' the lever, and means Von the stop to side support the free end el' the lever during the carriage-return operation.. l Y

12. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a platen-carriage mounted for letter-space movement, a revoluble platen carried thereon, a device comprising platensweep mechanism and platen-carriage-return means supported on the carriage, a pivoted forwardly swinging lever to rotate the platen, aplixed stop mounted on Vthe carriagetor limiting the-forward throw of for the lever, and an upwardly-projecting portion on said stop to side support the free end of the lever during the carriage-return movement.

13. In a typevvriting machine, in combination, a platen-carriage mounted for letter space-movement, a revoluble platen carried thereon, and a device comprising platen-sweep mechanism and platen-carriage-return, means supported` on the carriage, said mechanism comprising a pinion rotatable with the platen, a gear-Wheel `meshing with the pinion, a rearwardly spring-pressed operating lever pivoted concentrically ot said gear-Wheel, a pawl carried by the lever and forming a ratchet con-` nection With said lever and gear-Wheel, a

forwardly fixed stop mounted on the carl riage having an upwardlyproject1ng por- 1o ion to side support the free end of the lever during the platen-carriagereturn movement, a rearwardly adjustable stop against which the lever normally rests, both stops being arranged adjacent the path of the lever and co-operating therewith to limit the stroke and rotation of the platen, and a handle rockingly mounted on the lever having a shoulder adjacent the paivl, said handle provided with projecting fingerpieces for taking the inger-thrust to oper ate the sweep mechanism for rotating the platen and for giving the carriage return movement, and effective during platenturning operation to cause the shoulder to press the pawl and thereby act as a backstop to eliminate slippage and on abrupt stoppage of the sweeping operation of the platen to prevent overrunning thereof.

ELISHA E. STRONG. 

